The Rajon Rondo trade had its fair share of detractors. Even those questioning the Dallas Mavericks’ acquisition of the former All-Star, though, surely didn’t see the relationship between team and player deteriorating so quickly.
In wake of Rondo playing just 10 minutes and being benched for the seldom-used Raymond Felton during Dallas’ loss to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night comes a report that the prospective free agent will sign elsewhere this summer if Rick Carlisle is still coaching the Mavericks. His most likely destination should that prove the case? The Los Angeles Lakers, naturally.
Here’s Yahoo Sports’ Marc Spears:
Everything’s pushing Rondo closer to his inevitable free-agent fleeing to the Lakers this summer. As long as the coach is back, Rondo’s gone, sources told Yahoo Sports.
Of crucial note in the report, too, is that Rondo planned to sign with Los Angeles this summer even before he was traded to the Mavericks. Remember the hubbub over his Beacon Hill breakfast with Kobe Bryant back in early December? It turns out the “a**holes” might have been scheming a way to join forces with the purple-and-gold after all, and other recent momentum points that direction, too.
Confirming a long-held DIME suspicion, Spears also writes that the max-level contract market for Rondo has vanished altogether. And considering his disastrous tenure in Dallas and underwhelming play with the Boston Celtics, that development shouldn’t be a surprise – despite the antiquated belief among fans that the 29 year-old still ranks as one of basketball’s best floor generals.
The same reasons we dubbed Rondo a questionable fit – at best, actually – in Dallas account for just some of the many that make him an unrealistic maximum contract recipient. Playing in a league that places a higher premium than ever on offensive space, the ninth-year veteran provides less of it than perhaps any starting point guard. Defenders go under ball-screens set for Rondo well inside the arc and treat him as a complete non-entity off the ball.
For every reason that Steph Curry’s unparalleled shooting prowess makes him basketball’s most dangerous offensive player, Rondo lacking any semblance of it whatsoever drastically mitigates his rare playmaking flair and genius court sense. And given his ACL tear in 2013, there’s no reason but optimism to expect him to regain the elite explosiveness that helped limit the influence of his drawbacks in the first place.
Where Rondo can still make a difference and has for the Mavericks is on the other end of the floor. But will he commit to doing so if not a full-fledged offensive cog? We’re dubious, and a player of that mostly one-sided nature wouldn’t be close to worth a max-level deal anyway.
The best move for Dallas would be cutting its losses and letting Rondo walk. Swinging for the fences leads to a disproportionate amount of home runs and strikeouts. The Mavericks simply whiffed here, and Carlisle is far too valuable an organizational cog to sacrifice for a player of Rondo’s diminished caliber.
As for the Lakers, signing their rival’s former star would only be a huge mistake if they had unreasonable expectations for his impact. Not only is he a poor fit in Byron Scott’s offense and alongside Kobe Bryant, but Rondo’s presence would block the development of promising rookie Jordan Clarkson, too. Should he feel comfortable taking an ancillary role on the court and in the locker room, though, he still has use – especially for a club looking to placate a fan base hungry for supposed stars.
Frankly, we wouldn’t want Rondo on our team even for a price befitting his current status. His assumed on-court performance simply isn’t worth the potential headaches of his locker room influence and irrational fan hopes gleaned from his addition.
But those factors surely won’t stop Los Angeles from signing him if the price is right. And for sake of their arduous re-build, let’s hope Rondo’s seemingly imminent time with the Lakers goes far better than his brief term with Dallas.
[Yahoo]
